Dusty May Expands Upon Viral Moment at Michigan State With Colin Cowherd

The first matchup between Michigan and Michigan State basketball in the 2025-26 came with some pregame and postgame fireworks, so to speak.

Beyond the back-and-forth between the programs on Jeremy Fears Jr. and what May referred to as "dangerous" plays during the Wolverines' win over the Spartans, before the game even started, May was seen taking the atmosphere in at the Breslin Center while sitting courtside as MSU students yelled expletives at him.

On Monday, May sat down with Colin Cowherd on his show on FS1, when Cowherd asked the Michigan head coach about the moment.

Michigan head coach Dusty May reacts to a play against Nebraska during the second half at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Cowherd took a guess and said May likely enjoyed firing the Izzone up before the game. May responded by saying he was unbothered by how MSU fans reacted to him walking out onto the floor well before tipoff that night, and that a part of him did enjoy the moment.

What May told Cowherd

"Yeah Colin, I'm completely out of how I am by nature when I'm coaching now," May said. "I'm a small, fiery Irish guy that probably got in more fights growing up than I had easy days. And once I got into coaching and had a family, I basically just left all of that behind and became a borderline passivist. So now, when people have road rage, I just kinda shrug it off—when people get mad in a (traffic) line I'll just shrug it off and let them go in front of me.

"So, if a bunch of 18 to 22-year-olds who were probably overserved beginning at 8 a.m. want to yell and scream obscenities at me, let them go ahead. It's all part of the game, I enjoy watching European basketball and the stuff that goes on with that. So I think it's part of it. There's nothing any of those people could say that's gonna get a rise out of me. So, yes, in a way I did enjoy it, just for the fact that those kids are never gonna be able to get under my skin."

"If a bunch of 18-22 year olds who were probably overserved beginning at 8am want to yell and scream obscenities at me, let them go ahead."@colincowherd asks @umichbball head coach Dusty May about his viral moment with Michigan State fans pic.twitter.com/qGalGCNv63
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) March 2, 2026

Michigan, who has already clinched the regualr season Big Ten title, will travel to Iowa to take on the Hawkeyes on Thursday before welcoming Tom Izzo and the Spartans to Crisler Center for a second showdown on Sunday.

The Michigan-Iowa game will tip off at 8 p.m. EST, while Michigan-MSU is slated for a 4:30 p.m. EST tip on CBS.